Fox TV Barely Affected By Last Week's Exec Shakeup

Hilary Lewis

Mar. 16, 2009, 12:27 PM

After last week's exec shakeup, things are reportedly going suprisingly smoothly on the Fox lot.

Former Fox Searchlight prez Peter Rice, who just became head of entertainment for Fox Broadcasting, met with Fox programmers late last week and came away feeling that their creative sensibilities would mesh nicely Rice's, Variety reports.

Furthermore, any concerns that Fox Entertainment prez Kevin Reilly could be the next News Corp. exec to leave after Fox Broadcasting CEO Peter Liguori's surprise ouster have been supressed.

Variety: Rice and Fox Entertainment prexy Kevin Reilly have been friendly and complimentary to each other in the past and have similar reputations for championing critically acclaimed fare.

Still, insiders say that more changes are likely to come and that the restructuring will resonate throughout the entire company.

Reilly's job is safe -- particularly since it will take time for Rice to bone up on the TV industry. Reilly's lieutenant, exec VP Matt Cherniss, isn't going anywhere either.

The biggest change may be that now Fox's network division and TV production studio are reporting to separate heads. In the past, both sides ultimately reported to Chernin, who would settle disputes between the divisions. Now, they may have to resolve their own fights.

Network execs also wonder how active Murdoch will be in pilot screenings this year:

In recent years the mogul hasn't played much of a role in Fox's programming decisions, but with Chernin out of the picture, some wonder if Murdoch will feel the need to have more of a say this spring as the net plots its upfront presentation.